The Pokesona Chronicles
by faver1987
Summary: A military veteran returns home after two years out in the field. Not only have things changed drastically, but he is thrust into the field of battle again, this time against the Shadows. How will he manage it all? This story was co-written and edited by Sethfavor. Also, rated T for swearing and whatever else makes this T.
1. Chapter 1

I looked about the bus I was currently riding. Boring, boring, and more boring is all that awaited me.

"Ah well, I guess that's my cue to sleep on it."

I laid my head back against the seat and closed my eyes.

* * *

I was greeted by a vision of darkness that slowly lifted to reveal a real blast from the past. There sat Igor and Margaret, right in the back end of my interpretation of the Velvet Room, which happened to be in the form of a military transport truck. The back flap where you were supposed to get out was closed, just like every other time.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room yet again, my dear young man."

"Why, hello again, Seth. It has been a while since you were last called to this place." Margaret looked up from the book she was always carrying. "However, this is no time for pleasantries. The matter we are to inform you of is of grave importance."

"Thank you Margaret," Igor cut in, " I will explain the situation to him." He turned to me, " As you know, when one is summoned to the Velvet Room, they are at the start of a long and important journey. You have already been on one before, and lived to tell the tale. However, this time the journey will not be taken alone. You will need to form Social Links, make friends, and most certainly come here often. To do that, you must make use of this." He snapped his fingers, making what looked like an ignition key appear right in front of me.

"Wait a minute, Igor," I pulled out my own Velvet Key. "Couldn't I just use this?"

"Ah, you still have it." He chuckled, " No, your key from your last journey will not work anymore. Keep it as a souvenir. We have changed the locks, as you would say, and that key is now useless."

"Oh"

"Also, your Persona has changed to reflect the start of your new journey. It has taken a shape that you and your friends will find easier to understand and use. The question is why. Why has this happened and what does it mean other than just ease of use?"

"What form could that be? After all, I lost my Evoker back on the battlefield, so I don't have a way of finding out."

"In due time, my dear young man, in due time. However, it is time for you to wake up. Time marches on in your world. Whenever you need our assistance, feel free to come back."

"Alright." I stood up from the seat that I was occupying."In that case, I will take my leave. Goodbye Igor, Margaret."

* * *

I awoke to the sound of the bus stopping. The driver called out that we had arrived. I grabbed my things, stopping to put on my brass knuckles. It WAS the middle of the night. You can never be too careful, after all. I turned and walked off of the bus. The "Welcome to Athens" sign was my only greeting.

"Well then. In that case, let's go and see what's changed since my last time here. Sounds like fun." My Persona, Oni Achilles, didn't say a word. I guess that this was a side effect of him "changing forms". Oh well, I guess that can't be helped.


	2. Chapter 2: Out on the Town

**Hey guys. Listen, thanks for reading this, first and foremost. Also, please review this. I kind of would like it if you could give me an example of how many people have read this. Who knows, it might keep me motivated! Right now, I have the first five chapters of this story already done, so if anyone at all reviews I will upload more! Hell, I might just finish this out anyway. Whatever, just please review. See you fine specimens of humanity later!**

I turned and looked around. It was dark, so there really wasn't much to see anywhere. I took out the map and directions that my new landlord had so kindly given to me, and set off in the direction of my new residence. Looking down at the map again, I saw that the house was more than a mile away from the bus stop. I sighed.

"That's fine. I didn't even want to sleep tonight anyway."

I wandered around for a while, vaguely around the direction that I wanted to go. I checked my watch. It was about 11:30.

"Talk about boring. The entire city looks deserted and it's not even midnight yet." I looked around to see what there was, because there should be some kind of food nearby, no matter what time it is. It HAD been almost 6 hours since I last ate, after all. I found that there was some kind of fast food restaurant down the street a ways, so I decided that now was as good of time as any for a pit stop. I started to walk that way. When I passed an alley, I could hear voices coming from inside.

"What do you think your doing in OUR neighborhood, bitch?" The voice was obviously male, most likely some punk ass kid trying to be a gangster. I thought briefly about walking along, but was stopped when I heard a second, female voice.

"Please, I'm just trying to go see my friend. He should be here any minute now and then I'll leave." That voice was all too familiar.

"Dammit Mia, what have you gotten yourself into?"

That punk kid's voice sounded again. "So, what should we do with this bitch?"

I heard another voice. "I think that we should have a little...fun with her before she can go. Wadda you think?"

"Great idea."

That was all I needed to hear. I could feel my heart pounding with rage from the very thought of it. I clenched my fists around my brass knuckles tightly, and let my soldier training kick in. I crept into the alley where they were and took stock of my surroundings. It was a typical trash alley, with trash cans on one side and a large dumpster, which I was currently behind, on the other. The only light in the whole place was from the street lights behind me, and a lamp that was near the end of the alley. Backed up against the far wall was Mia, along with who I now confirmed were punk kids, no older than I was. The difference here was, I knew how to use those weapons. One of them had a switchblade knife that he played with like a two-year old that found the knife set in the kitchen. The other had what seemed to be a .22 caliber pistol tucked away, but it was under his shirt and there would be no way he could get at it before I could take him out.

I crept closer and closer, thankful that I was trained just for situations like this. I drew nearer to the one with the knife. Mia was looking everywhere for an escape route. Her eyes darted around quickly, and landed on me. I put a finger up to my lips as a warning sign. She seemed to have understood what I was trying to tell her, and started to talk louder in an attempt to cover my footsteps.

The one with the knife walked closer. "What the hell is wrong with-" He didn't get the chance to finish the sentence. I jumped up and punched with my metal covered hand right into his face. The resounding crunch sound told me that if he was getting up, it wasn't anytime soon.

"Oh Sh-" The other one didn't finish his sentence either. He tried to pull out his gun, only to have my fist collide with his face. He was down in one punch just like his friend.

"Two assholes, two punches. Must be a record." I turned to Mia."What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost. My return can't be that shocking, since you were coming to meet me."

"Y-y-y-you knocked them unconscious, right? They won't try anything else?"

I chucked. "Honey, they would have to be bigger idiots than they already are to get up after that. Don't worry."

"What were they going to do to me?"

_Damn. I really didn't want to talk to her about this. I know!_

"If you don't know already, then you really don't want to."

"Alright." She nodded.

"Come on, I'll walk you home. We can talk more tomorrow."

"But what about you? Where will you go?"

"After you're home safe and sound, then I'm probably gonna be in police interrogation for the rest of the night."

"Oh." She looked worried.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Don't be worried about me. This is nothing. If anything, I should be worried about you."

"Alright" She smiled for the first time that night. "Let's go then. I'm tired."

I looked very hard at her for the first time that night. She had changed since two years ago. She had shoulder length, bushy dirty blond hair, and glasses. Her face was round and her blue eyes almost shone in the light. She wasn't very tall, only being around 5'4". She had on a T-shirt and jeans, as always.

"I agree. Let's go."

We walked to her house in silence. There she let herself in, and said goodnight.


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow! I really am surprised. At the time that this chapter is put up, this story has had about 35 views. That is so much more than I expected or even dreamed. Thanks for reading this, if you have, and please continue. I promise I'll keep this story going from my end. Come on then, on with the tale! Also, before I forget, I created a poll over on my profile about how social links should be handled. So make sure you go and vote on that. Thanks again guys/females!  
**

I saw Mia turn and close the door. I decided now was as good of a time as any, so I pulled out my phone. I rifled through the contact list for a little while, and found the number that I was looking for. I called it up.

"Hello, you've reached the Athens City Police Department, what is your emergency?" At any other time I would have made fun of the man on the phone for sounding so businesslike, but today was an exception.

"Hey cuz, how's it going?"

"Seth! That you? How long has it been, man!? Are you back in town?"

"Sadly, that's what I was calling you about. I found two gang members cornering a friend of mine on that alley at the corner of 7th and River. I incapacitated them, but I thought that I would give you a call and let you deal with it."

"You know I love it when you pile on more work for me at the end of my shift." He sighed. "Alright, where are you now?"

"Standing outside of that alley, keeping an eye on things." It was true. I had started walking back towards that alley while I was talking, and had arrived back just as I said that.

"Be there in a minute."

He pulled up in a very impressive fashion, with lights flashing and sirens blazing. I took the opportunity to look at him again when he got out of the car. He was about 6 feet tall, and had brown hair that looked like it hadn't been cut in weeks. It fell down into his blue eyes from under his hat. He had a small nose that was just big enough to look like it belonged on his face, and thin lips that were set into his usual businesslike grimace. I walked up to him and shook his hand.

"Sorry to bother you so late, Drake. They're still out cold back there. Do you want any help carrying them?"

"No, I've got it. Did they have weapons?"

"You should know that answer already. Here they are." I pulled out the switchblade knife and the pistol that I had confiscated earlier. I put them in his hand.

"There. On the ride over I will tell you about what happened and then we can talk about more lighthearted things."

"Sounds good."

"Those bastards." Drake was very obviously pissed. "They're lucky you didn't kill them. I would've. There would have been no questions."

"Don't talk like that. You may inspire me." I smirked. It had been a while since I had the chance to just sit down and talk with Drake. Now that I did, I was brought up to date as to what my older cousin was doing. I left right as he was accepted into the police force, and to my surprise he had already been promoted to a detective. He had been busy with other cases so he never sent any letters. I understood. I was so busy trying not to get shot I didn't really communicate much either. Drake pulled the car up to my new residence. He said he would have these thugs in jail for a while, so there was no need to worry. I thanked him, and went inside. I checked my watch again. It was almost midnight. I went to my new bedroom and immediately closed my eyes and fell asleep. I awoke to a familiar scene.

"Welcome, yet again, to the Velvet Room, my dear young man."

"I wasn't here but a couple of hours ago, Igor. Why am I being dragged back so soon?"

"Well, I have had Theodore prepare a present for you. You will need it on your journey." He handed me a silver case. I already knew what was inside.

"Tomorrow, a new journey will start for you. You must be prepared. Margaret will tell you more."

"Seth, your Persona has changed since the last time you used him. Why did this happen? For what reason are the Shadows back? These are questions that you have to answer before the end of the year. You knew this already, didn't you?"

I nodded.

"Alright. Thank you for this. I will take my leave now."

Margaret stood up. "One more thing. Feel free to come back anytime. The compendium is yours from now on."

I nodded again, then took my leave.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys (and possibly females)! As I said before, review if you wanna. In terms of new things going on, I am at the point in writing where I plan to put Social Links if I even do them. I have no idea about this, so I organized a little poll over on my profile in order to assess what you guys/females (all seven of you who read to chapter 3 thus far) want me to do. I'm open to anything. So please go and vote!  
**

My eyes flipped open to the sound of my alarm. I groaned, then rolled over and looked at the clock. It was 8:00.

"It's been way too long since I last got a chance to sleep in like this. Isn't that right, Ac?" I called Oni Achilles by that name for no other reason than that it annoyed him. He still wouldn't say anything, which was starting to worry me. I sat up, and my eyes were instantly drawn to the silver briefcase that was set up against my desk. It definitely piqued my curiosity, even though I already had an idea of what it was. I opened it, and was greeted with tools for a trade that I thought I had abandoned. There sat ten Evokers, tucked away in their own little piece of fluffy, protective material. I noticed, however, that there was one that stood out from the rest. The Evoker on the far left had a different model than the other ones. While the others looked like a typical semi-automatic handgun, this one was shaped like a revolver, with a interesting twist. This revolver seemed to have way too many barrels for even something as weird as this. I decided to take this one with me. However, looking at it, it seemed to be a little harder to control than the other Evokers, so I decided to take a standard one with me as well.

"Sounds like today is going to be a fun day." My phone went off right as I said that. It was a message from Mia.

_Good morning! I know this is kind of early, but we have to go to school. Anyway, how about we all meet out in front of the usual spot at about 5?_

I couldn't help but smile. After all, the "usual spot" she was talking about had been used by us for years now. I wonder if it has changed any? It was only 8:15 now, so I would be left wondering pretty much all day. Wait, 8:15? I realized that I had been staring at the Evokers for almost fifteen minutes. Talk about absorbed in your work. Oh well. I hopped in the shower and finally got to sit down for something to eat. I recalled that I was too busy last night to even bother trying to eat, so this would be my first meal commemorating my return to Athens. Fun, right?

After eating, I grabbed my set of two Evokers and holstered them. Looking around my new apartment, I realized that there was no reason for me to stay here. There was nothing to do. I remembered the gun range that was down the street from here. I decided that I would spend my day there. I picked up my M4 Carbine Rifle that was so lovingly given to me by my military superiors, and before I left, I checked myself. The man in the mirror was so different than when I had left to enroll in the military. He had straight black hair that hung down into his steely gray eyes. His face was devoid of all fat, burned off through hard exercise. He had a cleft chin, round face, and was tall, almost 6'6".

"Hehe. Been awhile since I just looked at myself. Anyway, time to go."

I looked at the target that I had been shooting at. It had a nice ring of bullet holes right in its head area.

"Still got it" I chucked. I looked at the clock. It was 4:30. I said my goodbyes and paid my tab, and walked out of the store and to the usual spot.

Our "usual spot" was just a building that was bought by the city a few years back that was renovated with furniture and the like. It was supposed to be a "gathering place" for the community, but no one but us wanted to be anywhere near it. Probably because the place was rumored to be haunted. Or not. Who knows? Anyway, I headed over there and walked in.

"He's here! Welcome back, Seth!" I walked in to see my friends waiting there for me. There was Mia, as well as two others, Colin and Sarah. Colin was a tall (almost 6'5"), thickly built person with green eyes and sharp features. He honestly looked like some of the people that I knew in the military, except he would never join. He did, however, play football and was pretty good at it, from what I heard.

Sarah was shorter than Colin, by about 4 or 5 inches. She was from the deep South, just like me, so we often ganged up and made fun of the Yank's stupid accents back in the good ol' days. She had strawberry blonde hair, light brown eyes, and was generally very pretty, so a lot of guys hit on her, at least from what I could glean from her and Mia's letters.

"What's up, guys?" I asked.

"Welp, we kinda were wondering what we would do today." Sarah decided to answer. "What do you suggest?"

"Why don't we sit down and have you guys catch me up to speed on what's happened during my absence."

"Alright. So..."

We spent a couple hours just talking. I was having so much fun talking and laughing with my old friends that I didn't want the day to be over. I sat and thought about what a huge difference this was for the military. I noticed that I was being talked to.

"Hey, earth to Seth!" Colin was talking to me. "Did you hear anything that I just said?"

"No, care to fill me in?"

"You could have at least tried to sound like you were paying attention." Colin tried his best to look hurt, but his smile was kind of ruining the whole setup.

"So what were you saying?"

"There are rumors going around that if you show up here at 11:11, then you can see the ghosts that haunt this place! Talk about crazy!"

"I dunno."Mia spoke up,"There is just something about this that seems too far-fetched to be fake. I think that we should try it."

I raised an eyebrow at her, but I thought I might as well go along with it. She was right. The rumor seemed to be a little too completely insane to not be at least somewhat real.

"Alright, Mia, have it your way. Let's all be here at 11 o'clock sharp to see what this is. We don't have school tomorrow, so this will be the perfect time to go."

I nodded and got up. Looking at my watch, I saw that it was only 7:45. It was going to be a long wait.

"Hey, how about we go out to eat for a while? That should cut down the wait time." Sarah spoke up.

"Sure, girlie. You got it."

"Quit calling me 'girlie'! You sound like my dad!"

I couldn't help but laugh at her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey there again guys. I hope you like really stupid titles! Also,(spoiler alert) Seth gets his new Persona in this chapter! So, in all seriousness, I really am sorry for the stupid-ass name that I had to give Beldum. I couldn't come up with anything else. Anyhow, there is a poll on the ol' profile page, and please review. That would be nice. Now, let's get on with this!  
**

I looked down at my watch. It was 11.

"Are you ready for something awesome?! It's gonna be really something, just you wait!" Colin was being a smartass. He was ready to go home and go to sleep, that much was obvious.

"Calm down, Colin. There's no need for that. I know that you're tired, but it is almost time. I want to at least see if there is any credence to this urban legend."

"Nah man. I'm done. I gotta go home. There's a game tomorrow, you know. I gotta rest up. Look, it's obvious that nothing is gonna happen. It was great to see you again, but I need sleep. See ya tomorrow, man."

That left Sarah, Mia, and myself still waiting. We sat there almost in complete silence. Five more minutes passed. Mia got up.

"It was stupid of me to even begin to believe in this. I just kept everyone up way too late. I'm sorry."

"You leavin' too? Lord, no one has any faith in this at all! Alright, see you tomorrow at the game. I gotta go to a game for my buddies, right?" Mia left, now there was just Sarah and I. The time was 11:10.

"Just one minute left, now. How funny. We were the ones that didn't care, and now we are the only ones staying long enough to see." Sarah smirked.

"Yeah, I know. Oh well. Turns out there really is nothing after all."

The time had just hit that magical number.

"Wait, did you hear that?"

I had heard it. It was a sort of creaking sound. I recognized it as the same sound that a metal door made when it was forced open.

"Get back!"

Sarah practically flew back from the surprise.

"What the hell is that?"

I looked at where she was pointing. There was a huge hole in the wall, like a door opened. There were no hinges, no trace of anything ever being over the new hole.

"Well, seems something did happen. Shall we go and investigate?"

"Right." She nodded.

It felt strangely familiar in this new room. I hadn't seen it before, but it seemed to have this... aura to it that was both comforting and unsettling. Almost like it was the best part of a terrible place. It was just that, however. A room. It had gray walls and a gray floor and was rectangular. I noticed there were stairs over in the back corner of the room. I pointed this out to Sarah.

"We should go on. There might be something worth seeing down there."

"You're taking this awfully well. You aren't at least a little...you know, worried?"

"You aren't, so why should I be?"

I chuckled. "Fair enough, girlie."

We descended the stairs. As we went down, it got darker and darker until I wasn't even sure where we were anymore. I saw a light up ahead and made haste to get at it. I entered into a room that was covered in scribblings. There was no one in this room, but these scribblings were almost begging to be examined. I moved in closer and took a look. They were drawn in red, and just from the smell of the room I could tell that this wasn't ink. I read some of them. They seemed to be nonsensical ramblings, but I could pick out a few points that concerned me.

"Hey girlie, come here for a minute and look at this."

There was no answer. I turned around to discover that there was no one here besides me. I had only been in one place before where two people on the same staircase could go to different places.

"The Shadow nest!" I couldn't help but say it out loud. I needed to get out of this room. I looked around and saw a door. The staircase that brought me here was no where to be seen. I went over to the door and saw it was locked. The thing seemed to be made of flimsy wood, so I went the brute force route and kicked it open. Outside, my worst fears were confirmed. There was a huge shadow waiting for me. It attacked when it saw me.

"Alright then, come on you bastard!"

The shadow was big but not very tough. I remembered that from my first time around. As long as you weren't intimidated by its size, you would be fine. I thought about what I should do for a split second. I realized that my bare fists would be pretty much ineffective on a shadow, provided I could even hit it. I decided to go a different route for my attacks. I reached into my holster and pulled up the revolver. Placing it under my chin, I felt that surge of power that Personas bring coming back.

"Come on then, do your worst. PERSONA!"

I was fully expecting Oni Achilles to jump out of my head and help me. He didn't. Instead, I was greeted with:

_**Thou art I, and I am thou**_

_**From the seas of thy soul I cometh**_

_**I am Beldum, the Psychic Defender**_

_**Now let's show this bastard whose boss!**_

I couldn't help but chuckle a little at that. He was just like me, that was for sure.

"Alright, you got it. Beldum, use...um?"

_**Tell me to use Take Down. I do not know anything else. Also, you are a dumbass for not knowing this already. **_

"Hey, no need to get all smartass on me. I can still have you fused into...something feminine. Just use Take Down."

Beldum dove straight at the Shadow, knocking it over and hurting itself in the process. The Shadow got up and started to prepare an attack. I realized from the purple that was starting to come from its hands that it was meant to poison me.

"Shit. Getting poisoned could kill me at this point."

_**Relax. I've got you covered. Watch this.**_

Beldum dove in front of me, taking the full force of the attack. Strangely, he seemed fine. Nothing of mine hurt either, which was truly strange. If a Persona gets hit, then the user will feel it. This, however, was different. I noticed the Shadow was starting to get tired. It must have put a lot of energy into that attack.

"Alright! Beldum!"

Beldum charged again, and scored a direct hit. I felt the effects of this headlong charge, as I could feel it when it hurt itself. It was worth the risk, however, since I could see the Shadow starting to fade.

"Once more, Beldum! We'll finish this!"

Beldum charged into the Shadow yet again, and this time it didn't get back up. It faded into the black mist that all Shadows do when defeated.

"Alright. Lets g-"

Time slowed to a crawl. I could feel another voice inside my head, different from Beldum's.

**Thou art I, and I am thou**

**Thou hast taken the first step on a new journey**

**We bless thee with Absol, the Angel of Disaster**

"Hey, Beldum. Looks like you got yourself a roomate! Come on then. We have to find Sarah and get out of here as quickly as possible."


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey there guys (and possibly females), yet again for chapter 6! So I really don't have much to say about anything right now, except for review if you feel like it and that poll is still there. Also, to my dear friend Sethfavor, he ain't gonna be blonde and you can deal with it, jackass. (In all seriousness he is a good friend of mine. If he wasn't I probably wouldn't say things like that. Iloveyouallpleasedon'tleavemekthanks.**

I ran through the hallway that I found myself in after beating the giant Shadow. There didn't seem to be anything else on this floor except for a chest in a little room off to the side and some stairs on the other side of the floor. I opened the chest, and I found something that made me truly happy. Inside was a steel falchion and a set of dual blades. The falchion was a long, single edged sword with a crossed hilt for defending against attacks. I put the dual blades away and picked up the falchion with one hand. The thing was weighted pretty well, and would be useful against Shadows. I made sure my affairs were in order, since there were no Shadows on this floor. As I was strapping the sheaths for my new weapons to myself I heard Beldum and another voice, which I assumed to be Absol, arguing.

"**What do you mean I'm weak? I would kick your ass if we weren't inside of Seth right now!"**

"_**At least I have an ass to kick. You are just a bar of steel with a brain. I have a gender. You do not."**_

"**THAT'S IT! SETH OR NO, I WILL KICK YOUR ASS RIGHT HERE!"**

"Beldum, calm down. What's wrong with you two?"

"**I have to commemorate your choice in Personas. Out of the over 700 of us there are, you manage to stick me with the most annoying bastard the world has ever seen."**

"I suggest you suck it up. If he is any good in battle, then he's staying. No bitching."

Beldum was silent. I almost worried that I might have been too harsh, but Beldum apologized a minute later. My preparations were complete, so I started heading towards the stairs.

"**Wait."**

"What's up, Beldum. Absol annoying you again?"

"**No. I really am sorry for troubling you. We have enough to deal with already. Sarah needs our help. I want to explain some things to you if we are going to fight with more Shadows. First, you should know that Absol and I are of differing types, and thus will have differing weaknesses."**

"What do you mean by types? Ac never told me about anything like that."

" **All of us are organized into types based on our weaknesses and move sets. For example, something that would send Absol flying, such as a Fighting type attack, would only do a little to me."**

"I don't get it."

"**That's why I am here. One of my abilities is scanning the enemy for weaknesses. If you give me a little while, I could tell you the enemy's weakness and which Personas could exploit it best with which attacks. If you ever need it, just ask. Alright?"**

"Alright. Thanks, Beldum. Maybe I am a nice guy after all, huh."

"**Don't get your hopes up."**

I climbed down the stairs. There were some Shadows waiting for me at the bottom.

"Beldum, could you?" I shot myself in the head with my Evoker again. Then, realization washed over me. How was I going to fight with Beldum not able to fight? Absol answered that question for me.

"_**Spin the barrel on the Evoker then shoot yourself again. You can operate multiple Personas at the same time now!"**_

I did just that. I used my thumb and pushed the barrel of the revolver one chamber to the right. I put the gun under my chin again and pulled the trigger. I was surprised to see a feline/canine creature with all white fur and a sickle-shaped horn greet me.

"_**You rang?"**_

"Great, now I have two smartasses living inside my head."

"_**We are merely reflections of your inner self. Keep that in mind."**_

"Whatever. You get those," I said, indicating two Shadows, "and I'll take the others. Let's go!" I ran over and slashed at one of the Shadows. My blade passed right through its body. I tried swinging at the other one, with the same results. I was worried I would never be able to hit them, and that they would eventually kill me. Beldum turned out to be my savior, however.

"**Guys, switch spots! Seth's Shadows are weak to Dark and Absol's are weak to Steel!"**

Absol and I immediately charged at the Shadows. I slashed at them with my sword, and felt the satisfaction of seeing it go down for the count. I felt the same coming from Absol, and I killed my remaining Shadow. From that point on, the three of us kept in a group and killed Shadows, moving down the floors, combing every room for signs of Sarah. On the seventh floor, we heard something coming from the other end of the complex we were in. We ran as fast as we could, and were greeted with a disconcerting sight, to say the least. There was an absolute horde of lesser Shadows surrounding her.

"Come on then! We'll take all of you bastards out!"

We charged into the fray, and started fighting. Although they were easily defeated, there were so many that we were starting to tire out.

The problem was that we had no access to any of their weaknesses. According to Beldum, they had a weakness to Fighting, Ground, and Fire types. None of us had anything like that. Somehow, in the fighting, I had gotten turned around so much that I was now facing Sarah. There were at least four Shadows closing in on her. In an almost knee jerk reaction, I drew my second Evoker.

"Sarah! Catch!"

I threw the imitation pistol at her. She caught it, and looked at me with confusion. I saw that confusion turn to realization, and she started to raise the gun to her head. She placed it on her right temple, and pulled the trigger. A Persona's voice rang out loud and clear.

_**Thou art I, and I am thou**_

_**Thou has need of true strength, and I shall deliver it to thee**_

_**I am Torchic, the Burning Chick**_

"Now, Torchic! Ember!"

This Persona of hers took the form of a small, bright red chick. It looked happy, with what seemed to be a smile on its face as it breathed flames. It breathed small flames all over the Shadows, killing them all instantly.

"Wow, good job Sarah!"

"Thanks, but now I am so tired. I have half a million questions, but I can hardly stand. I just want to go home."

"Come on, then. I have something to get us out. I took out an item that a Shadow had dropped. Beldum had told me that it could take me out of a dungeon whenever I wanted. I threw it up in the air, and was instantly warped to that small room at the start of the nest.

Sarah was ready to pass out. I walked her home, saw her inside, and then checked my watch. It was midnight.

"Feels like more than an hour or two. Guess I really am out of shape. Ain't that right, Beldum?"

"**Damn straight, how long has it been since you were this tired."**

"Haha, longer than you been around. OH SHIT!"

I realized that I was walking around on a city street holding a falchion, sheathed dual blades, and two guns strapped to myself. I was suddenly thankful that no one was around this late at night. I ran back home, showered, then fell on the bed and went straight to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, and possibly females. I don't really have much to say this time. Vote on the poll, review, all that. Also, I give huge thanks to Sethfavor for helping me edit and write this chapter and the next couple as well. I am going to change the description to reflect this fact, but he is now my co-writer on this story. And I strongly recommend that, if he ever uploads something, you go and read it. Now, with all that out of the way, on to the story!  
**

As I wake up, I instantly notice something very odd. I realize I'm in a cell, but it's not a jail cell. It's way too big for that. I try to keep calm and take in my surroundings. It was a cell. It was a giant room, about 120 feet across and 70 feet high. It was gray concrete, and had steel bars all over one side of the wall. I noticed Sarah and Mia still passed out on the floor. I decide to go check on them and they seemed fine.

"It's about time you got up! Holding down the fort was starting to be a bit difficult!"

I turned around to see a man walking toward me. He had bright green eyes and thin lips, like mine own. He was about two inches taller than myself and had black hair that fell into his eyes. Just looking at him showed me that he was incredibly strong. He wasn't outright muscular, but he was carrying a giant halberd that I knew that even I would have had trouble lifting.

"Come on then, we gotta get out of here! Why are you just standing around? We gotta go!"

I saw a Shadow walk by the cell from the corner of my eye. SHIT! I don't have an Evoker! The Shadow charged us.

I woke up. Despite the fact that it was a dream, and I knew it, something about it felt too real. Who was that other guy? Why was he in there with myself and Sarah? Why the hell were he and Mia somewhere that Shadows frequented?

"**'Bout time you got the hell up. The other bastard is being cryptic. I asked what the fuck was going on with you and he said something about premonition and his abilities and shut up. Even taunting him won't garner a reaction. Could you talk to him?"**

"Right. Give me a minute."

I decided to just shake off the cold sweat that clung to me like some kind of parasite and take a shower. After my shower, I grabbed my Evoker just in case and went to my couch.

"Hey, Absol! I gotta talk to you about something!"

Personas tend to have to respond if their master calls. They are part of the human, after all. Sure enough, Absol appeared in the middle of the room. In cases like this, without being summoned, the Persona cannot attack, but is able to talk to and be seen by those who have a Persona of their own.

"_**What do you want?"**_

"Beldum said that you are having some issues. Do you need to talk?"

"_**It's nothing. I am just tired. My ability as a Persona is to predict disasters and forsee what might become of them."**_

"Strange, I had a dream about some man that I have never seen before acting like he knew me quite well. Then we got attacked by a giant Shadow. Does that have anything to do with your current situation?"

He chuckled wryly.

"_**It seems that, as my master, you share this ability to predict disasters. I suggest you take this as a warning sign and prepare for a moment such as that."**_

"Alright then, I'll take you at your word. I guess by 'prepare' you mean to kill more Shadows, and grow much more powerful. That's fine, I was gonna do that anyway! Alright then, if that is all, then I have to get ready. Piss off."

I decide to go and eat breakfast, even though it is a little late. I check my watch while waiting for my bagel to finish toasting and see that it's 1p.m. And I have a new message from Mia saying that the football game is at 6 and to meet them at the "hangout" at around 5:30 so that gives my plenty of time to prepare.

As I arrive at the hangout, I am greeted by Sarah, seeing how I'm really early I'm surprised to see her, but I don't mind one little bit. Out of everyone in the group I can connect with her more than anyone. We sit and talk, reminiscing about the old days and generally having a great time, and then we get to the subject of last night. I decide to explain everything to her, after the game. We continue to talk until Mia shows up at 5:45, on time like always. We decided to just walk to the game because it wasn't very far, but Mia wanted to drive. We didn't want to try and park because it was bound to be crowded game. When we get there the game was 2 minutes into the first quarter, because Mia insisted we stop for a pizza from my favorite pizza joint. Somehow the Blue Pandas where already up 6 points. I chuckled.

"Let the games begin."


	8. Chapter 8

The scoreboard buzzed the alarm for halftime. The score read that the Blue Pandas were down by 14 points, but their offense was pretty good and could easily make up the difference and come back for the win.

"COME ON THEN, COLIN! YOU GOTTA DO THIS! THINK OF THE STATS!"

A tall, helmeted figure turned and nodded at us, so I'd assume that Colin heard us. Colin was playing wide receiver, and ran out for a pass. He was wide open. The ball hit him right in the chest and he was off like a shot. That run of his scored us seven extra points, and tied us up for the final fifteen seconds of the second half. Our team had the ball. We lined up, and prepared for the final pass of the game. This play did not disappoint. The receivers ran off for another pass, and Colin still was not covered. The quarterback threw to him, and out of nowhere came a large defensive lineman. The ball pegged him right in the head, bounced, and landed right in Colin's arms. Needless to say, he ran and scored right as the final buzz. The team carried Colin off on their shoulders as they cheered for the championship win of their team and teammate.

"We should go and congratulate him later. Right now, he's probably too swamped with other things to worry about us." I smirked.

"Sooooooooo," said Mia, elongating her long O sound in order to make it seem like she knew something she shouldn't, "did anything happen last night?"

Sarah blushed furiously.

"Now what's that for?" I asked. "We found out that the myth is somewhat true. You should come with us tonight, and I'll show you."

A man that was sitting behind us butted into our conversation.

"Did you say that you tested the myth at that old community center?"

I was about to turn around and tell him how much of a rude ass he was being when something stopped me. This was the man from my dream/premonition. Same black hair, same bright green eyes, same everything.

"Uhhhhh, yeah. What about it?"

"And you said that it worked!?"

"Yes."

"And you are going tonight to prove it to your friend here?"

"Yeah."

"Then do you mind if I come?"

"Ummmm, sure, not at all."

"Alright then, it's a date. See ya guys there!"

He got off of the bleachers and walked away. The three of us that were remaining decided to go and ask Colin if he wanted to come as well. We walked over to where the football team would leave the locker room just in time to see Colin leaving.

"Wassup! Congratulations, bro!"

Colin looked up at us, and was obviously nervous. There was something he didn't want to tell us, that was for sure.

"Y-yeah. Thanks man. L-listen, there's a huge after-party to celebrate my victory. I won't be able to come with you."

I pretty much knew this was coming, but hey, might as well let him enjoy his fifteen minutes.

"Alright. Enjoy yourself. I have an appointment to keep, however. See ya."

Sarah and Mia talked to Colin for a little while, but ended up only saying the same things as myself. We left soon after that. It was 10:00, so we had to hurry over to the usual spot. We quickly walked all the way across town, which I had to admit was a fairly large town, and it took us almost an hour. I had made us take a detour at my place to grab the box of Evokers, just in case. We arrived at the usual spot somewhere after 11. That guy that we met at the game was already there.

"Wassup! I think that I never introduced myself at the game, and even if I did, you might need a refresher course. My name is Sam. What's yours?"

We all stepped forward and introduced ourselves. We chatted idly for a while, waiting for that magic time. I learned that Sam was a pretty cool guy, if not a little rude. He had almost no inhibitions when it came to talking to people, and so he would often say things to others that I would never say. I also learned that he was in the military for a year at the same time that I was. According to him, he was even on the bus ride going home and I just didn't notice him. The time continued to tick on.

I picked up the case of Evokers, and gave one to Sarah. I had mine on me already, never leave home without it.

"What the hell is that!? A gun! Why are you giving one to Sarah? I can see you having guns, but why her? What the hell!"

I had thrust an Evoker in her hand.

"I'll explain everything in a minute. But first, Sam! Get over here!"

"Don't worry about it," he said from across the room "I have one of my own."

To my surprise, he pulled out an Evoker, just like mine. It was the same almost revolver type model.

"**Do you think that means?"**

"Only one way to find out."

"**So are we gonna force it out of him or just wait until he does it on his own."**

"_**I suggest that you don't. You know, disaster prediction powers. Don't try to force it out of him. Bad things are bad, am I right?"**_

"Alright, fine. I don't need to know right now anyway."

"So, first of all, who the hell are you talking to?" Sarah piped up.

"My persona. You could do it too if you concentrated. Don't try right now, however. I want to answer all of your questions. We still have a little time until the door is supposed to open, so let's sit down and talk."

"Alright. I want to ask a few questions myself." Mia piped up.

"Ok," I said as we all got settled, "ask away."

"What is this for?" Mia asked, holding up her Evoker.

"That's an Evoker. It is a replica gun that you use to summon your Persona."

"How?"

"Like this."

I drew my Evoker and put it up to my head. I rolled the chamber over to the barrel that was designated for Absol. I pulled the trigger.

"Holy shit!"

Absol appeared, and quickly asked me if there was anything to fight. I told him no and to be friendly to our new friends. He proceeded to jump on the couch next to me and curl up. Apparently, he represented the lazy part of me as well.

"Any other questions?"

"Yeah, what exactly is a Persona?" Sarah finally asked something.

"Basically, it is a mask that you use to brave the hardships that the Shadows cause. It is a manifestation of your psyche, what you believe, feel, and think. I really have no explanation other than that."

I heard that screeching sound of metal on metal again, and the door to the Shadow's nest opened.

"One more thing. Mia, can you try to summon a Persona right here for me? I don't want you to be in here without protection. Actually, speaking of which..."

I pulled out a set of weapons. I had three, my brass knuckles, the falchion, and the set of dual blades that I had found.

"Sorry, Sam,"I called over to him, "I only have enough for three people."

"That's fine. I actually have my own. While you two were talking I actually ran home and got this. This was my weapon of choice when fighting the Shadows before. This is the halberd."

He showed me a peculiar weapon to say the least. It was about as tall as he was, and was topped with a cross-headed spear point. About a foot down from the point was a giant, double headed axe blade. The thing was made of solid materials, and I could tell how heavy it was, it also looked like it could do some damage to just about anything, even Shadows.

"Daaaaaaaaaaaamn!"

"Thanks."

I turned to the others. Mia had the pistol up to her head, but I could tell that she was having trouble convincing herself to pull the trigger.

"Remember, Mia. Conquer your fear. Show it that you are your own master." Sam actually put in, and then he chuckled to himself like it was some kind of joke.

Mia hesitated some more, and then I saw her finally draw up the resolve.

"Per...So...Na"

She pulled the trigger and I was greeted to the sound of breaking glass. I heard her Persona's voice boom"

**Thou art I, and I am thou**

**From deep within yourself I cometh**

**I am Ralts, the reader of emotions**

"So that's a Persona." She chuckled.

"Well then," she grabbed a set of dual blades, "let's get started."


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey there guys, and yet again, possibly females. I really don't have much to say here, except for the one person who was looking forward to this chapter coming out, sorry about the hiatus. Bad things are bad. But I digress. So, on my profile, there are some polls up, specifically who should have Shuckle as a Persona and how I should handle social links. Please go vote on those. Also, someone other than people involved in the story, please review. That would be awesome. Alright, on with the tale!**

I stepped into the newly opened room, and spent a little more time investigating it. The inside was how I remembered it, gray walls with gray ceilings and stairs in the back right corner. We all walked in, and I realized something. I voiced this new bit of information to my colleagues.

"We should leave our weapons and Evokers here. No one else would ever be able to get at them, and from what I've seen, no Shadows will be able to get up here in order to catch us off guard. They seem to refrain from this place pretty well."

"I know I should have asked this before, but what IS a Shadow?" Mia spoke up.

"No problem. A Shadow is, quite simply, an enemy of mankind. They make their homes in nests near human populations that they find easy to prey on. They then feast on the mind of their victim, effectively turning them into a living corpse and eventually killing them. This Shadow nest probably caused some of those disappearances that led to the belief that this place is haunted. Is that good enough for now?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Alright then." I deposited my remaining weapons on the floor in the other corner of the room and led the way to the stairs. We walked down in silence, not entirely knowing what enemy lie before us. At least, they didn't. Right then I made a silent promise to keep everyone safe. No man would be left behind, and we were all coming home.

We reached the end of the stairs and drew our weapons. I used my brass knuckles from before, Mia the dual blades, and Sam his halberd. I noticed Sarah still had no weapon. I walked up to her and pulled out my falchion.

"Catch." I threw the sword at her, point down of course. She caught it. "You don't have a weapon like the rest of us. You can have mine. Don't want that pretty little face of yours getting cut up, now do we?" She blushed.

"Oh god." Sam butted in. Again. "Save that shit for when you are alone. I came here to kick Shadow ass, not watch you two lovebirds hook up."

"Shut up."

"Do you have alcohol? That might make your shit more tolerable."

"You over legal age?"

"Yeah, here." He threw his wallet at me. Inside was a valid driver's license saying he was able to drink.

"Fine. Here." I threw a hip flask of my favorite whiskey over to him. He grabbed it out of the air, he unscrewed it and took three deep gulps of the booze. He threw it back, now almost empty.

"Thanks. Let's see how many of these bastards will die to me hammered!"

Looking back at him, I noticed the ease with which he wielded the no doubt extremely heavy weapon of his. He must have been insanely strong to wield it the way he did. As of now, he was carrying the thing around with one hand! I decided to comment about it to him.

"Hey Sam. How the hell are you able to do that?" I said, indicating toward his weapon.

"Do what?"

"Lift that thing! It must weigh like a hundred pounds if it is solid steel!"

"It's not actually that heavy. I just have a knack for carrying things, I suppose." He shrugged.

I left it alone, and turned my attention to the room in front of us. Shadows were known for building weird idols and strange colored rooms for their nests, and I was surprised at how boring this all was. Pretty much everything here was all varying shades of gray, mostly the steely, concrete kind. We found a few Shadows here and there, but they were very weak. I taught Sarah and Mia a little about fighting with a Persona, and how to balance using your weapon and your Persona to maximize your fighting efficiency. Sam went on about how he already knew this when I offered to teach him, so I left him alone and focused on the others. I saw him walk off deeper into the nest saying that he would call us if he got into trouble. I finished up my training on a maya Shadow, at least that's what I think they were called. The little ones with a body that came up out of what seemed to be a hole in the ground. Well, I finished killing him with my sword and moved on. I led Sarah and Mia to the stairs that we found earlier, and we went down. I reviewed what I knew about their two Personas, in order to formulate a strategy. Sarah's persona was entirely attack oriented. It had very good attacking stats, being able to do more damage than even Absol. Also, unlike Absol, it could use differing types of attacks. I talked directly to Torchic about this, since Persona users could see and speak to all Personas, not just theirs. Torchic actually explained to me that there are physical and special attacks, and that moves like ember were influenced by that set of rules, ember being special. It had access to both types of moves, physical and special. Mia's Persona, however, was a different story altogether. I talked with it as well. It had almost no physical strength whatsoever, and was a entirely special attacker. It had almost no attacks, however. It was almost entirely dedicated to keeping us alive. It had, as of now, two moves that could help us with an issue about our health. It could heal us a little, and nullify status effects.

With these two new pieces of information, I formulated a basic strategy. I went first, since Beldum was the best at taking hits, and absorbed damage from the Shadows. Sarah would stay back a little and deal damage, and Mia would keep us in good shape. It worked very well.

We proceeded down the stairs and onto the next floor. Aside from killing the occasional Shadow or two, we spent almost all of our time on that floor looking for Sam. We found him in one corner of the floor that was surrounded on three sides by concrete.

"PERSONA!" He shouted, pulling the trigger on his revolver. His Persona materialized. It seemed to be a quadrupedal...thing. It looked like a sort of dog/dragon thing, with black fur hanging down over its eyes and most of its back. It had what looked to be a single horn and a blue body everywhere that wasn't covered by fur.

"DEINO, DRAGON RAGE!"

I watched in awe as greenish blue flames sprouted from the ground around the Shadow, instantly killing it.

"Alright! We probably oughta head back now. Seth and company might be waiting for us."

A voice that I recognized as the Persona's spoke.

"Looks like they are already here." It chuckled like Sam does.

"I see. Hey guys!" He turned around to meet us. "Looks like you have been training! I have taken care of all of the Shadows on this floor. Shall we proceed? I've already found the stairs."

"Sure. Let's go."

He led the way through the mazelike passages of the Shadow's nest, until we got to the set of stairs that he specified.

"Alright, here they are. Listen, if you don't mind, I'm gonna stay with you for the rest of the time here. I know that you guys were learning the ropes of how this works, and that's why I left. Now that you have a little more experience, I would be honored if you would allow me to accompany you on your exploration of this place."

I noticed how red his face was and the way his speech sort of ran together. It didn't take long for me to figure out why. He was drunk. Actually, drunk doesn't even describe it. He was absolutely HAMMERED. When he walked, he seemed to have trouble keeping a straight line. That right there is enough, but he also seemed to be unable to keep a set task, instead doing whatever notion came to him at the time. I shrugged it off. After all, he did clear this entire floor of Shadows while drunk, so I don't think that it would start affecting his performance now.

"Alright then. Now come on, we got Shadow ass to kick."

"Wait. I already took a little peek down there and there is a absolutely gigantic Shadow down there. Are you ready for it?"

I looked around at my team. They looked like they were willing to take on this fight.

"Yes. We are ready. Let's go."

I led the way down the stairs and into a huge chamber. It was completely square and very bland. It was gray, and had a giant door on one end and a giant staircase, that we were on, on the other. I pointed to the door and we started our walk over there.

"STOP!" Sam yelled. We were all so surprised, due to how quiet this room was, that we froze dead in our tracks. All of a sudden, black smoke began to flow into the room from somewhere. It all flowed to a spot in the center of the room, until it got so thick that it obscured all vision. We stood there for a while, perplexed. Then the smoke started to lift, revealing what looked like a large blob with arms and legs. It was blue with an extremely white underbelly. It had pointy ears, teeth that jutted up, and claws extending from its puffy hands. We stood there in silence, just looking at the massive Shadow that lay before us.

" Why is it so fat?" Sarah whispered to me.

" I dunno. Logic?" I answered. We sat in silence for longer and longer. Then Sam walked up to it and started to taunt the thing.

"Now, see here. We gotta get through here and you seem to be in the way. Now, as I see it, you got two options here. You could either move your incredibly fat ass out of the way and act like a semi-cognitive individual, or you could just sit there and let us kill you. Which is it?"

The Shadow gave no answer.

"Hard way it is then. Get ready everyone!"

The Shadow issued what sounded like a battle cry and the fight began.

The first thing I did was summon Beldum, and have him analyze the enemy's weaknesses. According to him, he nullified Ghost type moves and was weak to Fighting type moves. Also, Personas of the Steel, Rock, and Ghost types would be good to defend against his moves. Taking that into account, we made our next moves. I kept Beldum out to fight the Shadow, as he was Steel type and therefore resisted his attacks well. I saw Sam pull out his revolver and switch Personas, but he didn't summon it to attack. Instead, he grabbed his halberd and swung at the Shadow with the weapon using only one hand. The attack connected, and did a little damage to the Shadow. Sarah took this opportunity to set up a move she had learned called Focus Energy, which raised her critical hit rate on physical moves. Mia took the turn, since no one was hurt, to summon Ralts and have it use Confusion. Surprisingly, it seemed to do a lot and even made the Shadow dizzy. The thing had a chance to attack then, but ended up attacking in the wrong direction and taking damage. I sent Beldum in for a Take Down, and still did a little. The Shadow then snapped out of its dazed state, and went after Sam with a punching attack. Sam saw it coming and pulled out his revolver.

"ARON!"

He summoned a Persona that looked like a turtle, but with battle armor on. The thing was comprised entirely of metal and rock, and had single eye on each side of it's head. This new Persona tensed up and prepared itself to take the hit. The Shadow punched it once, twice, thrice, four, five times! The most surprising part is, even after that barrage of blows, Sam and his Persona looked absolutely fine. Now, they weren't in any better shape, but they weren't in any kind of trouble even after that onslaught. He responded to the Shadow's attack by making the thing use a move called Metal Claw, which increased their physical attack skills by a little, at least according to Beldum. Sarah attacked, and Mia healed up Sam. The entire fight continued like this, us just chipping away at this monster, until it finally seemed to give in and fall over. It burst into the same black smoke, and dissipated out of the room. I felt a strange force wash over me. A voice rang in my head. Loudly.

_You have faced a great challenge and overcome it with great skill_

_Now, Wild Card, seize your reward_

_We bestow upon you the ability to use Girafarig, of the Normal typing._

"SWEET!" I practically screamed. I looked at the team. Sarah and Mia were obviously beyond exhausted.

"Welcome to the team, Zangoose." Sam said. He walked over to us.

"Come on then, I think it is time for us to go. I think that we should make exploring this place a regular thing, though. There seems to be something here that we need to find."

I was too tired to argue with him or even really take note of what he said. I just nodded. He laughed and threw up a item to get us out of there.


	10. State of Affairs

The Pokesona Chronicles State of Affairs

Hey there guys (and possibly females). First things first, I apologize for not uploading a real chapter. I just wanted to talk with you guys about a couple of topics.

Topic 1: My upload schedule.

I apologize immensely for not uploading regularly. I know that I could, and probably should, upload and write more often. There really is no excuse for me not uploading, and it really comes down to two things. I am starting to finish up my semester at school, and finals work is starting to catch up with me. That right there is taking up a lot of my time. Also, when you spend five hours straight working on essays, do you really want to sit down and write even more? I don't. And during my down time, I just don't want to write. I know that this is a stupid reason and it's selfish as shit, but it is the truth. Sorry. Don't worry, though. I'm starting to get used to all that is going on with my schooling, and have a million and a half ideas for new chapters.

Topic 2: My content.

After looking over my chapters and the one story that I'm doing right now, I've realized just how shitty my writing is. Not only do my action scenes suck, if they are even there at all. See chapter nine for that shit. I really want to be better as a writer, so I am implementing a couple of new measures to try and make my stories less... you know.

Topic 3: New measures

First of all, even over my longish leave of absence, I have been doing something slightly productive, at least for my writing's sake. I have been studying the works of some of the most recommended Persona writers, such as FortunesRevolver and Fiyerna. I have kind of learned some new styles of writing, and no, I will never take any of their styles. Also, if any of you have any idea about how I could make my stories better, please feel free to PM me or leave a review. I read them all, I promise!

Thank you guys so much for reading this, and please, feel free to leave a review, PM me, or whatever you want. I'll read it. Also, I believe that my next chapter will be up soon. Don't worry, I be starting on it as soon as I can finish, edit, and upload this.


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